Basic questions before download SP

[mitcorb]

Hi:
Before I embark on Sketchyphysics, I need some answers to some questions, I could not find for the last several days.
Realistic/ recommended hardware? It said somewhere that the SP attributes do not enlarge the files very much (I am sure that is relative).

Would I need SP if I wanted to position/ arrange non orthogonal objects against each other without the objects occupying the same space? You know- the convex hull thing. For instance, arranging a bunch of bananas in a still life, or something. Otherwise, I would have to painstakingly move and rotate, making sure not to intertwine the wires, or select the wrong center of rotation.
That process got me to thinking it sure would be great to grab one end of something and place it without distorting the model or moving all parts of it along the same vector.
That process got me to thinking it sure would be great to be able to variably and dynamically scale something like a banana where the stem gradually grows into the thicker body and then tapers to the end.
Once Sketchyphysics is installed, are all skp files no longer viewable without SP on board?
Ok that's enough for now.
Thanks,
mitcorb

[Wacov]

If you can run SketchUp well, you can probably run SP well. The files you make are viewable fine from a computer without SP installed, even if you've set up the model for physics (they just won't have the capability to run the simulation).

[mitcorb]

Thanks, Wacov:
Does this mean that SP adds some capabiliies for modeling, such as being able to move things around by dragging them?
I may eventually want to do more complicated simulations with joints and hinges and so forth, but can you place things carefully, or is this a tedious operation?